The Good
In the wake of a national disaster, the NFL donates 1 million dollars to hurricane relief. It is always great to see the league step up and do the right thing as far as helping those in need.
This is very good – the preseason is over and the season starts in less than a week!
The Bad
The preseason sees another bad injury, as Lions backup QB Jeff Garcia suffers a broken leg in the Lions preseason finale against Buffalo. Now the Lions face the season without a verteran backup to Joey Harrington, as they are left with rookie fifth-round pick Dan Orlovsky and another rookie, Todd Mortensen, who was an undrafted free agent. So much for Nipper’s 16-0 season for the Lions.
We here at NFL Rants and Raves believe the preseason is too long, and just to prove our point – the Colts decide to sit out all their offensive starters and all but two defensive starters in their preseason finale against the Bengals and get blown out 38-0. I know it is just the preseason and games do not mean a thing, but do you really want to go into the regular season 0-5 after a 38 to zip blow out. Well Tony Dungy thought it was OK.
The Ugly
Suspensions, suspensions, suspensions. We all know about Ricky Williams having to miss the first four games of the season for being an admitted pothead. This week the NFL issued some more suspensions and here they are.
Bengals defensive end Duane Clemons was suspended for four games for a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. Browns defensive back Michael Jameson was also suspended for four games for the same thing. Offensive lineman John Welbourn, of the Chiefs has been suspended for four games for violation of the league’s steroid policy. What’s up in KC? I only ask since Eric Warfield, a starting cornerback, was already suspended for four games, also for a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.
Now hear me out here, if the league gives you a four-game suspension that means that as a player, you have tested positive in the program twice. These players need to grow up. If you or I were caught using an illegal substance we would be in serious trouble on our first offense. These guys get one chance after they test positive and they do not get the point. The NFL should consider passing out suspensions after they test positive on their first offense, since giving them a pass the first time does not seem to help!
